1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electrical connector and specifically to an electrical connector used to connect photovoltaic panels.
2. Description of Related Art
Bus ribbon or bus bar is a common interconnect that is used to connect photovoltaic modules. Bus ribbon is a copper ribbon, or flat wire that may be tin plated or coated in solder. The solder protects the surface of the copper from oxidation and provides a layer of solder to form a solder joint in cases where solder interconnections are used. Bus ribbon is generally of width five to six millimeters, although some applications require bus ribbon to be more than twice as wide. Bus ribbon may serve as an input/output to a conventional photovoltaic junction box typically mounted on the back side of a photovoltaic panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,291,036 discloses a photovoltaic connection system including a connection box with for surface mounted diodes mounted on a printed circuit board inside of the connection box.
3. Definitions
The term “cable gland” as used herein refers to a device used for the entry of electrical cables or cords into electrical equipment and is used to firmly secure an electrical cable entering a piece of electrical equipment.
The term “tool” as used herein in the context of the present invention refers a conventional hand tool, e.g. screwdriver, or other element or accessory used for making or breaking electrically connections.
The term “longitudinal” in the context of “a strip of metal” refers to a direction parallel to the longest dimension of the strip. The term “thickness” is the shortest dimension of the strip.
The term “case” and “casing” are used herein interchangeably as the outer component of an electrical connector.